SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson left the Warriors with a whimper.

He returned to the Bay with a roar.

Nothing less was expected. Nothing less would have been appropriate.

Tuesday’s game was circled on the calendar the moment the schedule was released, and not because it was the first game of the NBA’s in-season tournament. No, this was an...Read more

Bronny James’ first NBA season continues to play out differently than that of the typical rookie.

The 20-year-old son of LeBron James is expected to play in only home games for the G League affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, as NBA insider Brian Windhorst referenced on Wednesday’s episode of his ESPN podcast.

And Windhorst, formerly an ...Read more

DENVER — Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will not play on the team’s upcoming three-game road trip due to a right calf strain, coach Michael Malone said.

Gordon, 29, has missed the last three games and been unable to participate in practice since asking for a substitution four minutes into Denver’s win over the Raptors on Nov. 4. He had been...Read more

ATLANTA — The history books will show that Mark Pope was named the University of Kentucky’s head men’s basketball coach on April 12, 2024.

But it was on Nov. 12, 2024, when Pope made the UK coaching job his.

On one of men’s college basketball’s biggest regular-season stages, Kentucky coaching made a decisive difference as the No. 19 ...Read more

DETROIT — Through the first two years of his career, Jalen Duren has shown flashes of being a prominent big man in the league. However, when he began preparing for his third season, Duren only cared about one thing — winning.

"Personal accolades do not intrigue me," Duren told The Detroit News in October. "I know that if we can get out ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets were down 105-103 with under 40 seconds left Monday night in New Orleans. Brooklyn had the ball and possessions were growing scarce. First-year head coach Jordi Fernandez was trying to call a timeout. He wanted to get his guys organized and ensure the best possible shot. But his frantic requests did not register ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Right after speaking at the podium postgame, Klay Thompson walked across the bowels of Chase Center and into the Warriors’ home locker room, fully dressed in a blue blazer and khakis with his newest captain’s hat.

For 48 electric minutes at the Chase Center, Thompson was on the enemy side. The same sold-out crowd that ...Read more

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich suffered a mild stroke this month, and his absence remains indefinite, the team announced Wednesday.

He is expected to make a full recovery.

Popovich, a five-time champion head coach with the Spurs who is also the team’s president, suffered the stroke on Nov. 2 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center....Read more

CHICAGO — If the Chicago Bulls are going to break out of their losing spiral, it starts with taking care of the ball.

This is nothing new for the Bulls, who want to play fast this season but have to do so under control. The first part has been a success as they ranked first in the NBA in pace entering Wednesday night’s game against the New ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky are ready to enter a new era — again.

The team introduced Tyler Marsh at Wintrust Arena on Tuesday as the sixth head coach in franchise history, ushering in the latest iteration of the team’s culture after rotating through two head coaches in the last two seasons.

General manager Jeff Pagliocca understood the ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry and Draymond Green each hugged Klay Thompson after a heartfelt pregame tribute to their former teammate.

It was all love. Then the ball was tipped. It didn’t take long for Curry and Green to treat Thompson like they would any other opponent: with ferocious competitiveness.

Curry defended Thompson, and both he ...Read more

ATLANTA — Kentucky threw the first punch, then Duke built a double-digit lead. In the end, the latest edition of this blue-blood college basketball rivalry came down to the final seconds.

Otega Oweh came up with a big steal at the end, taking it the other way to score the game’s winning points on two free throws, ultimately giving the No. ...Read more

DETROIT — Erik Spoelstra called timeout.

His team did not have one.

That is how the Miami Heat lost Tuesday night to the Detroit Pistons.

So despite Tyler Herro’s 40 points, despite a fourth-quarter rally, despite a go-ahead basket with 1.8 seconds to play, this 123-121 overtime loss will be remembered for none of that.

It will be the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks and 76ers met on Tuesday night with much-changed rosters but an all-too-familiar goal — establishing a new level of dominance in the Eastern Conference, especially with both teams retooling to challenge the Boston Celtics.

Tuesday’s NBA Cup clash underscored just how different these teams look from their playoff ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons continue to showcase that they are different from the egregious team from last year. Despite an embarrassing performance against the New York Knicks on Nov. 1, each game the Pistons have played to open the 2024-25 season has been winnable.

On Tuesday night, the Pistons won their fifth game of the season by ...Read more

BOSTON — Eight days after handing the Hawks a 30-point home loss, the Celtics couldn’t put away a depleted version of the same Atlanta team.

Boston squandered a 15-point second-half lead Tuesday night and lost, 117-116, at TD Garden in their 2024 NBA Cup opener.

Onyeka Okongwu’s put-back with six seconds remaining proved to be the game-...Read more

ATLANTA — For 34 minutes, the Kansas Jayhawks played in a manner that was antithetical to how coach Bill Self wants his teams to play basketball.

No. 1 KU took ill-advised shots, let Michigan State get key rebounds and looked lackadaisical on the court. During one timeout, Self told his team it didn’t come ready to play in the second half. ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The court inside Kia Center might have looked different than usual for Orlando‘s first NBA Cup group play matchup against the Hornets — it was light gray with a large gold trophy in the center and a blue outline — but the Magic‘s pathway to victory looked much the same Tuesday night as it did in their last two.

Missing...Read more